Elizabeth Warren slams Wells Fargo over arbitration position

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday criticized Wells Fargo‘s decision to require customers affected by its unauthorized accounts scandal to go through arbitration rather than allowing them to sue.

The San Francisco-based bank last week asked a U.S. court to uphold contract clauses that mandate arbitration, something financial firms often use to protect against litigation. Wells Fargo’s situation is unusual, though, because it opened accounts without customers’ permission, calling into question whether the contracts and their clauses are legitimate.